In central east Africa lies the small landlocked country of Burundi, where the majority of its 11 million people make around $1 per day and depend on subsistence farming.

Rated “the hungriest country in the world,” by the Global Hunger Index, Burundi has endured nearly 50 years of ongoing political violence intimately connected with events in neighboring Rwanda, during which over half a million lives were lost in Burundi alone.

The result has been crippling economic hardship and a lack of basic infrastructure to support daily life, including access to clean water, healthcare, education and the resources to be self-supportive.

As a young boy, Aloys Habonimana was witness to unspeakable atrocities during Burundi’s Civil War and spent over seven years of his adolescence in a refugee camp near the Tanzania border. He supported himself with small jobs just to have enough to eat. These were the building blocks that rooted his drive for a better future, not only for himself but for his community and beyond. UMWIZERO is the realization of one young man’s mission to help lift his own people out of poverty.

UMWIZERO believes that the key to success is to create a self-sustaining and empowered community

OUR MISSION

To promote the rights of children, women and other vulnerable people in the developing country of Burundi. To help them build their own future by encouraging active participation in their local communities in the sectors of education, health, agro-pastoral, and protection of the environment. Special emphasis is placed on supporting entrepreneurial endeavors that promote self-sustainability and the sharing of knowledge and resources.

OUR VISION

We believe that every child has the right to be healthy and grow up in a community that values education and gender equity. By lifting one child beyond poverty, we lift up the entire community in the process and plant seeds of hope for future generations.

By building self-sustaining programs for the community by the community, hope for a brighter future is being restored — one brick, one student, one seed planting at a time.

We welcome you to learn more about our projects, and to share a vision of UMWIZERO = HOPE with us.

UMWIZERO is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization registered in the United States and is operating as a non-profit charity in Burundi registered with the Ministry of the Interior to improve the lives of the struggling people of Burundi. © UMWIZERO all rights reserved.